


Late Nights

by jell_0_shot



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-09 21:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4365176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jell_0_shot/pseuds/jell_0_shot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leslie stays up late working on an idea for her campaign, whilst trying not to wake up Ben</p>
            </blockquote>





	Late Nights

“Dammit.”

The word escapes from Leslie’s mouth as a whispered breath, a reflex from her finger getting caught in the binder. Her eyes glance over Ben’s sleeping body, reassuring herself for the tenth time that she hasn’t woken him up. The pile of blankets continues to inhale and exhale at a calming pace, his lack of consciousness fueling hers. 

She turns back to the spreadsheets and stacks of paper surrounding her to settle back in. She loves these nights - well, early mornings - when her entire being is consumed by brilliance. She can normally feel the idea bubbling inside of her before it hits, and she knows that she’s in for an exciting night.

Ben breathes deeply and shifts sides, causing Leslie to drop her folder.

“Oh, damn. Dammit.” She winces, holding her breath.

“Babe? Is that you?” Ben squints into the lamp light, struggling to open his eyes even slightly.

“Shh, go back to sleep.” Leslie sings, hoping he’ll fall straight back to dreaming. But Ben shuffles into a sitting position, rubbing his eyes against the brightness.

“Leslie? I thought you went home about…” He glances at the alarm clock on his bedside table, “four hours ago. It’s…” A yawn stops him mid-sentence. “It’s 2 a.m., Leslie.”

Leslie smiles at his sleep-filled sentences.

“I went home but I came back because I had an amazing idea for the campaign and I had to start working on it immediately.”

Ben leans over the bed sleepily, grabs Leslie’s wrist and tugs until she agrees to join him. As she lays down next to him, he asks why she came all the way back to April and Andy’s house rather than just working at hers.

She nestles her head on his shoulder and speaks against his neck, “I feel calmer when I am around you. It helps me focus.”

Ben closes his eyes, a smile playing on his lips and lets the silence hang in the air as if to savour the sweetness of her.

Leslie only lasts a minute before she starts squirming, claiming how much work she has to do before the sun wakes up. Ben tightens his grip around her, laughing at her giggled protests.

“If you leave the bed to keep working then I won’t let you have any waffles for breakfast.” Ben jokes.

Leslie immediately stops laughing. She looks at Ben as if he just announced that Joe Biden had died.

“Oh no, Leslie, no, I was just kidding.” Ben desperately tries to convince her. “Of course you can have waffles, babe.”

She tilts her head, assessing his authenticity.

“I’ll even make them for you myself.” Ben pulls her towards him and smiles into a kiss, “I promise.”

Leslie folds and lays back down beside him. “But you have to use extra whipped cream to make it up to me.”

Ben nods okay and makes a mental note to steer clear of joking about withholding waffles from her. When she slips out of his hold ten minutes later to return to her piles of plans, notes and binders, Ben lets his eyes rest on her figure until they eventually close once again.

Leslie listens for his breathing to become even and rhythmic, allowing it to soothe her back into her work mode. They better be good waffles, she smiles.


End file.
